11.16.02 Fort Bragg
 

I woke up pretty early, about 7:30 am. The rest of the household was also waking up. I fixed up a nice fat Spanish omelet for everyone. It was a tasty breakfast. After the meal, Ron took me outside to collect eggs from the chicken coop. They have about 5 or 6 chickens and a rooster. We let them out and gave them some feed before going in for the eggs. Most of the eggs were brown but a few of them were bluish from a certain variety of chicken. Ron and I talked a bit about animal farming. In the past, Ron and Susan raised pigs to eat and even tried turkeys once. Ron and I went out to see the ocean. He had suggested possibly going kayaking or even diving for abalone. We realized the surf was too rough to do either activity so we returned home. Shortly after returning, we went out to collect some firewood in a slight drizzle. I was glad not to be cycling today in such poor weather. When we got back, we split some of the wood for their wood heated hot tub. The hot tub is basically a large barrel of redwood planks. The water gets into the wood and makes it swell, sealing the tub. It will be nice soaking my muscles in this tonight! Ron got out some albacore tuna for tonight’s dinner and had me wrap chunks in bacon. I threw a load of laundry in and checked my email and the upcoming weather on the computer. It was looking like sunny days riding into San Francisco. Ron, Susan, and I relaxed by the fire in the living room and did some reading and talking. Before dinner, Cameron and I were sent out on a movie rental mission. Cameron is only 16 and just started learning how to drive. So I was the “responsible adult supervision”. We picked up one of the movies Susan had suggested, an Iranian movie called Baran. While browsing the movie titles, I could tell I was way behind on my movie watching. We picked up some parmesan cheese, a key ingredient for the preparation of tonight’s abalone appetizer. When we got back, Susan cooked up some abalone they had previously caught and froze. We munched on the abalone while the tuna was on the grill. This was my first time trying abalone. Honestly, I can’t understand why it is such a delicacy. It tasted like calamari without the fishy taste. Susan and I talked about communal living while she prepared mashed potatoes and peas. The tuna came off the grill and was looking yummy. We had a great meal and then Ron and I took a nice relaxing soak in the hot tub. The temperature was just right. Susan finally coaxed us out of the tub to begin the movie. The tub totally wore me out but it felt great. I melted into the couch and watched the interesting movie. By the end of the film, only Ron and I stuck it out for the finish. The movie definitely had a different feel to it. It was kind of a romance but also showed a lot of the culture of the poor working class and their struggle. After some milk and cookies, I hit the bed to rest up for a big day on the road tomorrow.

Peace

Dave